Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Bell Riots
9. It Began With Homelessness
The Sanctuary Districts earned their name as they were areas of hope for the homeless and the down-on-their-luck residents of America. While we will explore just how much of a haven they became, they were inspired by Robert Hewitt Wolfe's discomfort and worry about the growing number of homeless people in Santa Monica. As per the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block, he stated that it was:
...difficult to turn a blind eye to the sight of people living on the streets in unprecedented numbers.'
Ira Steven Behr understood Wolfe's concerns, seeing the homeless as 'living statues' that people were content to 'step over'. Therefore, when Wolfe brought the original pitch to him, he knew that this was timely, but a story that had a deeper message behind it. They would eventually settle on something slightly bigger, but the first draft of the story would be called 'Cold And Distant Stars.'
In that version of the story, Sisko would travel back in time, but he would reveal his identity to the locals - only for them to call him schizophrenic and prescribe him Thorazine. While Behr couldn't make that script work, Star Trek: Voyager seems to have recycled the idea in Future's End for Captain Braxton.